The verdict in the Franz Rieger case is extortion, and if it becomes final, the man has a criminal record. It’s not a trivial matter, he didn’t just park wrongly or steal a few apples in the neighbour’s garden. He urged an entrepreneur to donate more money than he actually wanted, under threat of consequences. With this, Rieger has lost all role model function.
But he should have that as a member of the state parliament, as a representative of the people. People’s trust in the Bavarian Parliament has suffered badly in recent years. First, when the relatives affair came up, MPs had employed relatives, which is commonly called nepotism. And then the mask affair, the extent of which is not yet fully apparent, in which parliamentarians took advantage of the Corona crisis and are said to have earned a lot of money from dubious deals.
In the course of this, the state parliament decided on rules of conduct, and the CSU – which is particularly affected in both cases – has adjusted its code. There is no explicit regulation of how to deal with someone who is blackmailing a building contractor. It is clear, however, that Rieger’s behavior does not fit the party’s new White West course. The incident happened a long time ago, yes, but even in 2013, extortion was not recognized as an effective means of election campaigns; there is no need for a code for that.
In addition, for years Rieger branded the Regensburg corruption affair as a matter of the SPD, in the CSU apparently no one knew for a long time that he himself could become the focus of the judiciary. Now his party will not be able to kick him out, a party elimination process is a complex matter. What is certain, however, is that he would be doing his CSU a big favor by leaving. It would also serve credibility if he resigned from his mandate. Because when people voted for him, they didn’t know they were voting for a blackmailer.
Franz Rieger has to decide for himself, a member of parliament is only obliged to his conscience. Hopefully with a clear conscience.